Starbucks: The Bank concept store

Environmental Graphics, Consumer

Starbucks recently opened its first concept store in Europe in the center of Amsterdam on March 9. Located in the vault of the historic Amsterdamsche Bank, a landmark building on Amsterdam’s famous Rembrandt Square, and spanning 430-square-meters (4,500-square-feet), it’s the largest Starbucks store in Europe.

Designed under the direction of Liz Muller, Starbucks director of global concept design, The Bank is a laboratory with a Slow Coffee Theater, hyper local design, floating community gathering spaces and in-store baking. All Starbucks concept stores are a significant aesthetic departure and offer a glimpse into the future of the chain. Built under strict Leed sustainable building guidelines, to reduce the impact on the environment, this store features a floor-to-ceiling tattooed mural celebrating the history of Dutch coffee traders; repurposed Dutch oak throughout the space; antique Delft blue tiles; a ceiling sculpture created from 1,876 hand-cut wooden blocks; and a wall clad in recycled bicycle inner tubes.

More than 35 local artists and craftspeople transformed the vault of the former bank into a modern masterpiece. Concepted as a theater space with the 17-meter (57-foot) coffee bar as its stage, the multi-level community areas will cameo as stages for local bands, poetry readings and other cultural activities.